Tile Care

Tips to keep your tiles looking great

• To remove a stubborn spot, scrub with a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water.
• Use good mats at doorways to keep out sand which may scratch tiles outside.
• If you have high gloss floors, avoid wearing spiked shoes.
• Select the right tiles for your area. Talk to a reputable distributor like Ranjanas Ceramic
• Ensure the tiler lays the tiles evenly with no edges protruding up, and beds the tiles into the adhesive with no voids under the tiles.
• Use gliders under any furniture which may damage the surface of the tiles.
• Avoid dropping heavy objects onto the tiles. Tiles are not indestructible.
• Clean and sweep your tiles regularly.
• Use just a few drops of soapless detergent. Don't use abrasive cleaners.
• Vacuuming is a great way to clean tiles.
• Vinegar mixed with warm water is a proven and natural cleaning agent.
• Efflorescence will disappear with ongoing cleaning. It is simply a deposit of salts on the surface of the tile or grout from the rising dampness.

See our Tile Doctor page for specific tile care needs, or if you have any concerns about your tiles.

Wall Tiles and Floor Tiles

Bathroom, kitchen and laundry wall tiles need only be cleaned with a mild detergent or household cleaner. There are really only two rules to follow.

Ceramic tiles are basically a low maintenance product, but some rules should be followed if you want to get the most out of your tiles for years to come.

Wall tiles

1. Don't use an abrasive cleaner such as a powder or gritty cream. These will cause minute scratches in the surface and make the tiles harder to clean the next time.
2. Clean tiles regularly so dirt doesn't build up. Tiles are a great product, but they don't stay clean by themselves.

A few other points are:

Be careful of gold or silver finishes on your tiles. These are very delicate areas and easily damaged, especially by abrasive cleaners and scourers.

An important note on seasonal movement. As the walls of your house move against each other, the seal between the bath, shower base, basin and tiles may be broken. This may also occur on the vertical internal corners. You may have put a flexible sealant in, but this can become brittle or come away with age and must be replaced to ensure moisture doesn't leak through.

This can have disastrous consequences. This is as much a maintenance job in a house as repainting timber surfaces. When you see that the sealant is lifting away, replace it as soon as possible. To replace it, remove the whole lot, then thoroughly dry the joints using a hairdryer or similar, wipe the tile faces clean with a little methylated spirits on a cloth and then simply reseal.

Floor tiles

The same basic rules apply to floor tiles. Don't use abrasive cleaners, or any sort of polishes or additives. They will only build up and cause problems later. Wash you tiles regularly using hot clean water and a little neutral (not acidic or alkaline) soapless household cleaner.

It is possible that a very thin film of grout has been left on the surface of the tiles making them appear dull. In this case, we recommend the use of Aqua Mix Heavy Duty Tile & Grout Cleaner (must be used per manufacturer's written instructions) making sure that you try it out first on a less noticeable area (behind a door or cupboard for example), to ensure it does not damage the tile and make sure you rinse the floor thoroughly with clean water after treatment.

Tiles can become scratched by grit, especially high glazed ones. To minimise this, ensure a door mat is used just inside any exterior door. If you have very high glazed floor tiles in your bathroom, avoid walking on them with harsh footwear.

One or two tiles in your floor may become chipped or cracked. Please make sure you have kept some spares, as tile batches vary in colour and fashions come and go, so it's very unlikely that you could ever match your tiles up a few years later.